I'm going to get spoiled. Last night V cooked dinner and tonight I12 wanted to take a turn. He asked early enough to get his idea onto the menu plan for the week. Fortunately, we had all the ingredients on hand to make what he wanted- Shepherd's Pie. Well, a variation of it. We used our local, grass-fed beef rather than lamb. And a tasty local meal it was.
Mashed potatoes go on top.
Oh my, he's getting tall!!
I12 has said for several years now that he wants to be a chef when he grows up. For being 12, he is already a pretty good cook. (although I still cringe when he's chopping veggies- it's a Mom thing) Since he has expressed such interest in cooking he got in his stocking this holiday season the Cooking Personal Trainer for his Nintendo DS. After getting over the disappointment of it not being a real game, he decided that it was pretty cool. And it is. It walks you step by step through a recipe giving verbal directions. And you can use voice commands to have it repeat a step or move on to the next. I was impressed by the number and variety of recipes it has from all over the world. It should be fun. I think next he wants to make steamed dumplings. That's even a new one for me. He is in the middle of a cooking unit in school which should be pretty easy for him.
Tomorrow I'm back in the kitchen for jambalaya. That was K9's request for the week. He wanted something with lots of shrimp. Definitely not something local but oh so good. And we have quite a few in the freezer from pre-holiday sales.
Work will be a bit more interesting for the next few months. One of my co-workers had a baby yesterday. A bouncing baby boy, her first child. They are both doing well. But that means that we are another person down until she gets back. Our new staff member will be starting with us on the 25th but that still means a few weeks of being really short staffed. Oh well, we will survive. We always do.
Yum! Sounds like he is well on his way to being a chef. Even if he changes his mind, he already has a valuable talent that will be used for a lifetime!
ReplyDeleteWhen our kids reached the age where they could cook, I made them each cook one night a week. One did the dinner, one the dessert. The next week, they switched. Now, many, many years later, they both are good cooks. Son Brien likes to cook meals and Kelly has become a pretty good dessert maker! I never regretted making them "do" dinner. They had to decide what they wanted, I bought the ingredience and they cooked and served. It was great. It also makes them appreciate the time you put into making dinner. Three cheers for Chef I12!! ...debbie
ReplyDeleteWe steam lots of things in our household using the aluminum equivalent of a bamboo steamer. I blame marrying a Filipina for that but I really enjoy it. But my favorite by far is steamed dumplings.
ReplyDeleteOooh, a new baby. A thought keeps flitting through my head that since I'm unemployed and can't get a job, I should just have another baby now. You know, because I have all that time off already.
ReplyDeleteAnd then I remember that I'm not having any more babies, I can't afford any more babies, and there's a reason I became a foster parent!!
That's great about the cooking interest - and the gadgets that go along! Does he ever make up recipes? I remember doing that when starting to cook. Some of those recipes... well, some would have been better left un-created, judging from the reactions at the table. But some have become family favorites, even though they might use combos that seem a bit odd from the traditional angle.
ReplyDeleteAnd I agree with Ed - steamed dumplings are delicious!